V-22 Ospreys Help with Disaster Relief in Philippines

The U.S. Marines are sending four additional Bell-Boeing MV-22B Ospreys to support disaster relief efforts in the Philippines following the Haiyan/Yolanda typhoon that recently struck the region.

Photo: Lance Cpl. Diamond Peden.

According to a statement by the Philippine government's national disaster risk reduction and management council, the typhoon has impacted more than 4.2 million people across 36 provinces. As of Tuesday, the U.S. has delivered around 129,000 pounds of relief supplies.

The MV-22B Osprey's vertical take-off and landing capability and optional fixed-wing configuration allows it to deploy four times the distance as traditional rotary wing aircraft from the closest Marine Corps station in Okinawa without stopping to refuel. Operation Damayan, a humanitarian disaster relief operation, currently has eight MV-22B Ospreys from the Marine Medium Tiltrotor 262, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III MEF.

The Osprey "is the ideal aircraft for this situation. Its medium-lift capacity and ability to fly great distances are essential to support relief efforts of such a large scale area," said Lt. Col. Joseph Lee, executive officer of VMM 262, 1st MAW, III MEF.